Friday, October 12, 2012

Today I am pairing the music of Rodriguez with the wine of Gilbert Cellars.

Pairing Music with Wine is obviously a personal opinion, biased just like recommending a favorite wine. Either you get it or you don't. This week I've been telling friends and posting on twitter and facebook about a musician I just discovered. My buzz of the week. Actually, a lot of people this year have been "discovering" the music of Sixto Rodriguez, aka "Sugar Man." On Sunday, 60 Minutes feature story was on Rodriguez, and a 2012 Sundance Film Festival awarded movie about his life "Searching for Sugar Man." His music is 40 years old.

Gilbert Cellars 2009 Allobroges red wine is also a recent discovery for me. I knew nothing about them before this summer. The first week of July, I visited family and friends on Bainbridge Island and Seattle. One of the treasures I returned home with, was the bottle of 2009 Allobroges my cousin José gifted me. It was surprising we did not open it, well maybe not, tequila featured rather prominently that visit. I took the bottle home and put it away in the wine fridge. When I opened the bottle a month later, I was so enamored of it, I completely neglected to take notes. It happens. Thank you José, loved the wine.

It seems an appropriate pairing then, that I bought a bottle of Gilbert Cellars 2009 Allobroges and enjoyed it while listening to the music of Rodriguez. Both, new to me discoveries: serious, meaningful music and wine.

Gilbert Cellars is on my must visit list. If you have the opportunity, I strongly encourage you to visit Gilbert Cellars. They have a tasting room in Yakima, Washington. About an hour drive for me. Established in 2004, their production is at 5,000 cases annually and they have 70 acres of Estate Vineyards. Browsing their website, I see many wines I want to taste. They even have a Washington Pinot Noir. Really.

Tasting Notes
Deep garnet color and pretty tasty at opening. It had pepper, pencil shavings, blackberry, blueberry, a nice mouth feel, slightly dry, with dark fruit and cola on the finish. Balanced and tasty. After only 30 minutes, this wine opened up, with a fuller mouth feel, more intense flavor, tannin and acidity. Dang, wonderful and enjoyable. Open and drink if you want, it will be good. Open and decant and you will enjoy a rewarding Yakima, Washington wine experience. A suitable wine to drink now or to cellar for a few more years. Recommended.

The Gilbert Family has been in the Yakima Valley since 1897, when Horace Mark Gilbert moved his family from Geneseo, Illinois and started farming apples and other produce. H.M and his wife Marion's home place is owned by the Yakima Valley Museum. The family business has passed down from father to son since then and Gilbert Orchards is owned and operated by brothers Curtiss and Cragg Gilbert today.

Albums of Sixto Rodriguez
Rodriguez only released two albums. Cold Fact in 1970 and Coming From Reality in 1971. Now available is the release of the Soundtrack to the movieSearching for Sugar Man. These are albums worth owning. I purchased Cold Fact and Coming From Reality on iTunes.

"...Going down a dusty, Georgian side road I wonder The wind splashed in my face can smell a trace Of thunder" Artist: Sixto Rodriguez lyrics, Title: Inner City Blues